Astronomy Picture of the Day - Closest Star has Potentially Habitable Planet

NASA ^ | 08/25/2016 | (see photo credits)

[ThomasMore]

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2016 August 25

Closest Star has Potentially Habitable Planet
Image Credit & License: Y. Beletsky (LCO), ESO, Pale Red Dot Team

Explanation: The star closest to the Sun has a planet similar to the Earth. As announced yesterday, recent observations confirmed that this planet not only exists but inhabits a zone where its surface temperature could allow liquid water, a key ingredient for life on Earth. It is not yet known if this planet, Proxima b, has any life. Even if not, its potential ability to sustain liquid water might make it a good first hop for humanity's future trips out into the Milky Way Galaxy. Although the planet's parent star, Proxima Centauri, is cooler and redder than our Sun, one of the other two stars in the Alpha Centauri star system is very similar to our Sun. The featured image shows the sky location of Proxima Centauri in southern skies behind the telescope that made many of the discovery observations: ESO's 3.6-meter telescope in La Silla, Chile. The discovered planet orbits close in -- so close one year there takes only 11 days on Earth. The planet was discovered by the ESO's Pale Red Dot collaboration. Although seemingly unlikely, if Proxima b does have intelligent life, at 4.25 light years

[Carl Vehse]

Accellerate for half the time, then deaccelerate for the last half. The problem is that in interstellar space, there are atoms and molecules, and rarely a dust particle or two.

The atoms hitting the spacecraft at > 0.1c will cause gamma emissions hazardous to the crew. Hitting a dust particle would cause serious problems. At close to c, some claim that the atoms hitting the spaceship will generate enough heat to melt it. Flash Gordon never had to worry about these problems.

[Old_And_Grumpy]

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1/Lonemagpie/londo_aliens.jpg

[PIF]

Recorded history now goes back to 14000 BC and ther Joman of Japan and the unknowns who built Gobeki Tepe in 12000BC.

[PIF]

Humm, according to what I read the planet is inferred through observed light changes of the parent star, the planet itself has not been seen - so no one can say anything definite just speculate.

All they really know is that there is an object that passes the solar disk of PC which they assume to be a planet at a certain distance. Everything else after that is just speculation.

[SunkenCiv]

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